Reviews copied, ya bilge rat, with permission from Sky High Hobbies - Your Vintage Rocket Source.

Brief:

T' Taurus-1 model rocket kit is one o' t' MPC Miniroc series o' rockets. It uses t' smaller 13mm Minijet type rocket engines. Arrr! It was designed as both a sport rocket and a high performance competition rocket. Which type it classifies as is dependant on whether you build it with or without t' side booster rockets that are included with t' kit. Arrr! Its appearance resembles the much larger NASA Mercury Redstone rockets but it is nay a true scale replica.

When this kit was in production John M. Well, blow me down! Kennedy used a booster- less version of this rocket t' set an all time altitude record for model rockets while flyin' on an A3-4m Minijet type engine. Aye aye! Arrr! He flew his Taurus-1 t' over 660feet.

T' kit contains:

One o' t' nicest features o' this kit are 2 plastic sprues o' customizing detail parts. T' booster rocket nose cones and t' engine's nozzles are on these sprues as well as several other cool little parts that can be used to really customize your Taurus. Begad! Parts such as side thruster nozzles, engine shrouds, me bucko, me hearties, me bucko, antennas, shiver me timbers, trackin' flares and others, me hearties, allow you t' make your Taurus as wild or mild as you want. Avast, me proud beauty! For even more detailin' options t' Taurus comes in a cardboard backed plastic blister pack. Begad! Incorporated in t' plastic blister itself are many vacuum formed customizin' detail parts. Ya scallywag! These can be carefully cut from t' blister, trimmed and then glued t' t' rocket t' simulate things such as cable shrouds, matey, vents, scoops, pilot canopies and t' like. Aye aye! Be sure that if you use these parts you only use Enamel paints for finishin' your rocket.

T' decals for this rocket are t' water slide variety. Included are black and white .roll pattern" decals. Begad! Like t' real rockets flown by NASA, these permit photographic analysis o' t' rollin' or spinnin' o' t' rocket.

Construction:

T' Taurus is a simple kit t' build with balsa fins and nose cone, and a fiber body tube. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! There are 4 small balsa fins and 2 small booster rockets. Arrr! Blimey! The booster rockets must be assembled from t' 2 included T-5 fiber tubes and from plastic nose cones and engine nozzles that are included. Begad! T' instructions are easy t' follow and well detailed. Well, blow me down!

I started by buildin' t' engine mount which is a simple 2 piece affair consistin' o' an engine tube and an engine block. Avast! Once t' engine blocks glue has set, matey, t' engine tube with t' block is inserted flush with t' end o' the booster tube. Ya scallywag! Arrr! While t' glue for t' engine block is settin' t' lines for the 4 fins are measured and drawn. Begad! I used markin' guides but a paper guide can be cut out from t' instruction sheet and wrapped around t' rocket's booster tube. Ya scallywag! It's important t' always get t' fins identically sized. Blimey! Begad! Do this by carefully cuttin' them from t' balsa stock and then pinnin' them together. This way they can be sanded without worryin' about them slippin' out o' place as you're sanding. Begad! Once they are all sanded t' equal size, unpin them, sand the flat sides smooth, and then sand sharp compound angles into t' leadin' and trailin' edges. Blimey! Blimey! T' mountin' edge o' t' fins are one by one given a light coat of glue and then mounted t' t' booster tube. Begad! Once they are all aligned correctly and t' glue is set, start a series o' 3 coats o' glue fillets. Aye aye! These are applied by runnin' your finger down each fin/tube joint while it's filled with glue. Blimey!

To mount t' small side booster rockets, ya bilge rat, for each T-5 tube I used plastic cement t' glue t' nose cones and engine nozzles on t' thin tubes. Ahoy! Mark each one so that exactly 1 inch o' t' aft o' each side booster rocket protrudes from t' Main Tube, then add thruster nozzles t' t' main tube. Ya scallywag! These are included along with other plastic detail parts that can be added optionally. T' shock cord o' this kit is just plain string. It is mounted t' t' inside of the main tube with a piece o' cardboard stock that has 3 holes in it. The strin' is threaded into this card stock and then glued into t' tube far enough in that it will nay interfere with t' nose cone. It's actually a stronger connection type than t' typical Estes and Custom method o' foldin' t' shock cord into a tri folded piece o' regular paper. Begad! Avast!

T' nose cone is as mentioned, balsa. A small eye screw is included like any other balsa nose cone kit. Ya scallywag! This is screwed into t' center o' t' bottom o' the nose cone and then removed. Begad! Aye aye! A drop o' glue is put into t' hole and then the screw is screwed back into t' nose cone tight. Ya scallywag! T' Taurus-1 uses a 10inch 6 sided parachute for its recovery. Begad! Aye aye! This is a bonus in me view, as most rockets of this size only use a streamer for recovery. I recommend usin' a small dab of glue in t' chute gripper tabs t' make sure that this 30+ year old parachute doesn't separate from its shroud lines durin' descent. Blimey! Each shroud line is inserted into a hole in a small rectangle o' single sided tape. Begad! Ahoy! T' shroud line is then folded over on t' sticky side and then t' nay so sticky side o' the tape is folded over t' edge o' t' parachute corners. Avast! Well, blow me down! Instead o' tyin' the parachute directly t' t' nose cone screw I tied it t' a latchin' swivel hook so that it can be mounted and removed after flights. Ya scallywag! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Since it is such a high flyer a metallic silver or other very bright color is recommended for the finished rocket so that it can be more easily seen.

Summary:

Like all MPC rockets this one is a blast t' build and fly. Arrr! Its ease of assembly makes this a great first build, starter rocket, me hearties, which can also be used for competition.